This blog is dedicated to the many many Europeans who, despite continuous disinformation campaigns, do not believe the worst of the Jews (malign and secret Jewish power); who do not disguise anti-Semitism behind the language of anti-Zionism; and who know that Israel embodies the best in democracy.

Saturday, 13 June 2009

Dutch government split on Israel ties

Ruling center-right party supports upgrading European Union's relations with Israel despite standstill in peace talks with Palestinians. Labor oppose, saying it would be 'completely ridiculous to give Israel presents now'

The Dutch government is spilt over whether relations between the European Union and Israel should be upgraded. The Labor party, headed by Finance Minister Wouter Bos, opposed stepping up political and commercial ties with Israel, days before a European Parliament session matter slated for next week.

Labor, the country's second largest party, on the other hand, demand that any upgrading of ties with Israel should depend on the continuation of the political peace process with the Palestinians.Labor member Marcel van Dam, who is currently visiting Israel and the Palestinian Authority as part of a European delegation, said it would be "completely ridiculous to give Israel presents now".

Foreign Minister Verhagen is also slated to visit Israel and the Gaza Strip later on in the month, to evaluate for himself the progress of efforts to rebuild the Strip.

Verhagen has also been receiving criticism from home. Last week, former Prime Minister Dries van Agt and former Foreign Minister Hans van den Broek, both members of Verhagen's Christian Democratic Appeal party, published an op-ed, in which they adamantly opposed supporting Israel.

Israel must show 'earnestness'

The two expressed an opinion similar to that of the finance minister, saying that Israel should first show "earnestness" with regards to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Christian Union party, which is the third most important in the Dutch coalition, is now working to prevent the application of economic pressure on Israel that has been demanded by the Labor party. According to Christian Union members, improving economic ties with Israel and the Palestinians may bring the vision of peace closer.

Arie Slob, the party's representative in the lower house of the Netherlands' parliament, published an article on Friday calling the move "a primitive and authoritarian attempt" to impose a peace agreement on Israel.

"The Palestinians are not living up to the terms set by the international community, including renouncing violence and recognizing Israel. Any attempt to pressure Israel now will only lead to a 'three-state' solution," he wrote. [...]

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Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme (2008)

"We must be wakeful for a new anti-Semitism, sometimes too easy trivialized. We must be wakeful for a new anti-Zionism that is a hidden anti-Semitism that in reality has not accepted the existence of the state of Israel, even sixty years after its foundation. Europe cannot turn its back on Israel. For Israel is linked to the history of Europe, for more than one reason. We cannot speak about the foundation of the Jewish State without mentioning the Holocaust. There is more, the dream of a new Eretz Yisrael was born in Europe, in the hearts and minds of Theodor Herzl and his followers in the 19th century. And since many centuries, in many thousands of European Jewish households, Pesach, the Jewish feast of Easter, ends with the wish: "Next year in Jerusalem!""..........................................

Charles-Joseph, Prince de Ligne (1801)

"It seems to me that this 1800-year-old anger has lasted long enough."